Dear Mods...

it isn't about being super rich or not getting our of bed for less than 2.50 a mile. it's about making more money. period.

can I run at 1.30 a mile and stay afloat? sure. but why run for 1.30 when there are plenty of companies I can take my truck to and make 1.80+? the moment someone shows me a company you can average 1.80 through their lease purchase program, I'll reconsider my stance that l/p is a very bad business model for everyone but the company.

 

It seems that L/P is bad, and company driver is worse.

The wisdom I'm hearing from computertruckers is: if you want to get a down payment together, you need to get your salary higher than what a company driver makes.

Even with this job I just signed up for, you have to consider how long it will take before I can get a 5000 dollar truck payment together. Even supposing I save half of every paycheck, and pay no taxes, it would take at least three months. And then on top of that I'm still going to want to have some kind of reserve in place. So realistically what am I looking at? Eating beans and rice for a full year? At least half a year.

 

beans and rice aren't that bad. it's what all of our ancestors ate for a life time. they lived within their means. it's how you build something to leave for your children. not like today's mentality of a lifetime of instant gratification that leaves you retiring in poverty and nothing left for the next generation.

 

Failing means they go out of Business!!!!!


Scroll down to Transportation...

http://www.statisticbrain.com/startup-failure-by-industry/

 

If you make 1.80+ on every load. Every mile and stay consistant running every day like that. More power to you. I ran percentage and booked my own freight. Granted I ran box freight as I have no desire to run flatbed which I know pays better. However I saw alot of of variation on rates. Sure I got some great rates on some loads and not so great on others. Also you have to figure mty miles.

i know where I work I get paid mty or loaded. Tolls are paid upfront on prepass or reimbursed, scales are also reimbursed, as well as bonuses for heavy haul ( which isn't often). Also I save usually between .20 to .30 off every gallon I purchase with our fuel card, which is one of the best discounts in the industry. I even get 15% off my monthly phone bill with Verizon because of who I work for.. That's another 45.00 saved every month.

What I'm getting it at is having a good rate is great but you have to look at the whole package. I'm not eating beans and rice every day by doing what I do. However that doesn't mean I don't save money on food by putting some groceries in my truck.


Just this last week I probably saved 200.00 in tolls alone. When I ran percentage i probably averaged 1.60sh once i took into account extra expenses and mty miles averaged between all loads. Currently I bet I average 1.50sh after all the savings I get with DART, and I in all honesty get more miles, the pay is more consistant.

now I will say I had weeks running percentage that I can't touch here. But there were more down weeks as well.

 

I think a lot of guys are missing the point here. The real OO way of doing things does not apply to a lease driver. I cannot broker any loads, I cannot pull anything other than what my company tells me to.

I am a lease purchaser who could care less about owning my truck. I do not care that I cant cut holes in it. I dont care if I cant paint it. As a lease purchase I make more, way more, than a company driver.

My settlement today is $3600 and change. $600 came from a reserve acct I put money in, and $450 is layover pay. This is after after deductions, but before taxes.

I have been a truck driver for one year. In my first year of driving I have made over $75000. I have no problem making the truck payment for the company. As a company driver doing the same work I would have made half that.

Again, if I wanted to own a truck I wouldn't go this way. All I wanted was more control and more money. I am in a walk away lease. If I decide to quit trucking or take a couple of months off I walk away without hurting my credit or worrying about a truck payment. The only thing I lose is a $2200 security deposit.

 

OK.So you actually did about 2550.00...How many ''actual'' miles did you run to get this 2550.00.?

 

Even among company drivers, there's a pretty high "give up" rate. Not just quitting a single carrier, but quitting the industry. A 55% fail rate of truck businesses may not actually be so much a reflection of how bad the business plan is, rather than how many of those attempting it can't handle it.

Definitely one advantage of being a company driver is if I go a week and only get 1500 miles, I don't fall behind on a truck payment. The disadvantage is that even if I get 3000 miles, I won't reach a $1500 week. Everything I've been hearing makes it sound like if you're not willing to push yourself, you'll fail on lease (or O/O). But if you are willing to push yourself, then it's a total waste to be a company driver.

Those last 1000 miles on your way to a 3000 mile week are more grueling than the first 2000 combined, but for a company driver, they still only pay the same CPM as the first 2000 did. On lease, those last 1000 miles are your bread and butter. They're only ones that really pay.

So it all depends on how far over 2000 you like to push.

 

4100 miles.